Villa Escudero, Quezon (April 2017)

Matt and I celebrated our two-year anniversary by taking a quick day-trip to a well-known tourist destination in Quezon, Villa Escudero. What was once a private estate of the Spanish clan, they opened their doors to the public in the 1980’s, allowing all to see their grand hacienda, fine display of collectibles, and rich coconut plantation.

Experiences peculiar to the site were:

Lunch by the falls. The array of food was satisfactory in both quality and quantity. Choices consisted of Filipino classics cooked in a very Filipino way. Simple, but not lacking. What made the experience unforgettable was the calf-high cold water rushing from a hydroelectric dam.

Carabao cart ride. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the resort area via four-legged macho-mammal, vis-a-vis the 2 minutes it would take on an e-jeep. But the live folk music made it a splendid ride, as we admired the vista of rich plantation we passed by.

Cultural show. Consisting of folk dances practiced by different tribes for different occasions, the event kept me on my seat more than I thought it would. What caught my eye was the colorful display of varying fashion choices and how social hierarchy was revealed through them.

Bamboo rafting. Paddling under the noontime heat was a bad idea. We stopped by an enclave of mangroves to rest and quickly headed back to cool off.

Museum. Antiques, Sto. Ninos, and other articles reminiscent of early Filipino culture–from first settlers to the era of Spanish colonization, and different tribes and tongues–from the Moros to the Mangyans. The family is particularly fond of taxidermy, too, and owns a vast collection of stuffed species from all over the world.

We capped the day off eating Aburi in one of the best-rated restaurants in the sushi category. Needless to say, our day was as memorable as our two years of love for each other, which I plan to write about next time, too. 🙂